As merchants combat high interchange fees by increasing debit penetration, the debit networks are quietly increasing their fees at the same time. Interlink is the latest debit network to announce an increase.

For tier 4 merchants, the rate goes from 75 basis points and $.17 per transaction to 95 basis points and $.20, There is no cap on the percentage fee charged. That’s $.0095 times the transaction amount plus the per item fee. Compare this to the debit interchange cost of 1.03% and $10 per transaction and it’s obvious the numbers are getting closer.

Merchants will need to weigh cost and risk to make decisions about pushing pin debit. With pin debit, all risk is removed from the merchant for chargebacks.

New rates are effective April 16, 2010.

What does it cost to process a debit transaction? A pin debit transaction? Why should you care? There are many complexities to answer the question and the chart below provides a simple way to help you compare costs. This chart can help you make decisions about which merchant terminal to choose because you can see the impact of using different payment processing types.

If you’re not familiar with the different types of debit transactions, listen to my podcast how to increase pin debit for merchants. It contains an overview before delving into specifics about increasing pin debit penetration. A  pin debit transaction occurs when the customer is present and enters their pin number. Merchants need a PED or Pin Entry Device to accept pin debit transactions, and by July 2010, all PED devices must be Triple DES certified.

Fee schedules for debit are varied and just like interchange for credit cards, it’s getting more complex all the time. The most basic interchange and debit network fees are in the chart below:

See also the related article  Compare wireless payment solutions for silent auctions, January 2010 and podcast how to increase pin debit for merchants.

By understanding the basic differences in pin debit costs, a business can analyze their situation to assist in decision making for:

• human resources- who needs more training?
• comparing hardware ROI
• software and related POS decisions
• payment processing analysis and changes needed
• balancing risk

With pin debit transaction costs now on the rise, it’s also important to understand other values of pin debit, namely that there is no risk of future chargeback.

3D Merchant provides detailed pin debit analysis for customers processing $1 million per month and up. For these merchants, the analysis will identify specific opportunities to improve interchange qualification, convert debit to pin debit, and deliver an ROI for CenPOS. CenPOS is a payment processing platform with a multitude of essential PCI Compliance, cost reduction, and fraud prevention tools larger businesses need.

What options are there to accept credit card payments at special events such as silent auctions and what are the cost differences? With debit card usage now in the 50% range, merchants should seriously consider a wireless payment option that enables entry of pin codes to qualify for pin debit transaction rates.  The chart below expands on the article How can I accept credit cards at special events?

Recommendations are not based entirely on the cost of payment processing. If you have a fundraising event, how much more money would you receive, if instead of collecting pledges on paper that you then invoiced later, you had staff that goes from table to table with a wireless terminal right after a tremendous speech and request for donations? Or what if you have a live auction? Never miss a payment again when someone ‘forgets’ after a long evening when you can get payment at the table.

Based purely on transaction costs, you’ll need to process over $100,000 annually for it to make economic sense to go with wireless.  What impact will pin debit have on your overall costs? It depends on your average sale and overall number of transactions. The cost to purchase and operate wireless equipment may outweigh any cost savings from having pin debit. However, there are also other advantages, including, no chargebacks on pin debit transactions. This may justify the cost.

* Verify you can collect invoice/PO # and sales tax AND that this data is passed through to the processor. Many systems collect the data, but do not pass it through to the processor. In that case, you may need a separate gateway that will pass the data if you want to qualify for the best interchange rates on corporate credit cards.

See our pin-debit cost comparison chart for an example.

If you have one annual event, with volume under $100,000 the Virtual terminal may be the best solution. Merchants, including non-profits, can request a seasonal account so the merchant account is only open a short time, and avoid monthly fees. A card reader is also a good option. I recommend this instead of a wireless terminal because:

a) cost

b) virtually no training

c) no risk of lost units with volunteer staff

d) always PCI Compliant- no need to worry about equipment getting outdated or software updates

If your event is a fundraiser, and there is the opportunity to make use of the credit card terminal tableside or anywhere the donors are, I recommend a wireless terminal. Whether there is value in pin-debit, you’ll have to determine based on an analysis of needs, risk, and ROI.

Another factor to consider: mobile payments. Mobile payments, where a person makes a payment with the mobile phone and you get your money instantly is expected to take off in 2010.  If you want to accept mobile payments, please call for additional advice. With the right wireless terminal, and other items, you’ll be able to instantly accept wireless payments as it grows. Call for details.